CLYDE WISHAM

We all know that children aren't like adults. Immature people (children, that is) are really a subspecies. It is a rare writer who can remember (and recreate) what the world looks like to children. IMHO, A High Wind in Jamaica is the best of the few good books written from a child's POV.
(Ducks head. No, really, it is better than The Lord of the Flies.)

Sort of meld of the steampunk and alternate reality sub-genres. Quite good.

This is the third book in Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. The first book in Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) can be read as a stand alone work. The second and third books, however, form one long story. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest picks up exactly where The Girl Who Played with Fire ends. (So, you need to read that book first.)
In TGWKtHN, Lisbeth Salander can no longer go it alone. At start of the book she is badly hurt, confined in a hospital, and has very limited communication with the outside world. She is forced to confront her basic distrust of people and to accept the aid of Mikael Blomkvist, Dragan Armansky, and others in order to avoid being locked up, possibly for life, in a mental institution.
(Avoiding spoilers) TGWKtHN, like Larsson's other books, is a long and meandering story. But, it is far from dull. A decades-long criminal conspiracy run by totally ruthless men must be uncovered and dealt with. Lisbeth's innocence must be proved. And, Lisbeth and Mikael must accomplish the rather important task of staying alive to do so. The story proceeds along several story lines that eventually come together in multiple climaxes involving both action and courtroom drama. The ending is oddly satisfying.
I will say no more. Read all three books.

If someone had given me this book with the authorial information removed, I would have asked for details about how an unpublished Heinlein young adult novel was found. Birth of Fire really does read like a book by the master. Heinlein's influence is no surprise, I suppose, as Pournelle and Heinlein were close friends in 1973 when this book was originally published. That is another thing – Birth of Fire is not dated at all even though it was written almost 40 years ago. It could have been written yesterday.
Basically, this is a science fiction adventure about a Martian war of independence. Military SF fans take note. It is also a coming of age story, and it has a strong line of romance to boot. It was recently rereleased in Kindle format with a new afterward by the author as an added bonus.
Read it, you won't be sorry.

Pretty good yarn.

Good book. Really can't wait for more.
I do wonder, however, how GRRM is going to finish his epic off. At the end of ADWD he has multiple threads hanging. Oh the suspended suspense ...
Fair warning: If you are new to the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, don't start here. You will just get confused. Start with the first book – “A Game of Thrones”.

Mcdonald's “Volcanoes” is a classic. Well illustrated and well written, I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the geology of volcanoes.

The Crown Jewels, the first Drake Maijstral adventure, is a quite enjoyable romp.
My thanks to Walter Jon Williams for re-releasing the series. I somehow quite missed them when they were originally published.

Very good read indeed. Can't wait for the continuation in “A Dance with Dragons”.

In a perfect world, all men would have a woman like Erin, a good friend like Al Garcia, and a “bad” friend like Shad.
This is a damned book – one of Hiaasen's best. (Note: The movie was a joke. Don't bother with it.)

I read this way back in the 1970s. Still a good read these many years later.

This book (Amber #3) doesn't provide any resolution to the overall problem of the black road and its origin. It does push Corwin's story forward a bit. There is some action, some court intrigue, and some dastardly deeds. Fantastical sequences showcase Zelazny's writing skills. Mysteries abound – presumably to be dealt with in subsequent volumes.

I didn't enjoy The Hand of Oberon as as much on a reread as my memory of it from decades ago. Of course the book hasn't changed, but I certainly have. Still, it is Zelazny with all his wonderfully descriptive prose and fantastic characters; so, still a good book.
3.5 stars rounded up.

One of the better memoirs to come out of WW2. George Wilson was in the thick of the fighting from Normandy on. The section on the brutal Battle of Hurtgen Forest is especially riveting.

Still good on a reread many years later. Miles is an unstoppable force.

This time I listened to the audio version very ably narrated by Grover Gardner.

This is the fifth book in Huff's Confederation series. Torin Kerr has left the marines and taken up the life of a salvage operator with her lover Craig. Of course bad shit happens. Their ship is attacked and Craig is kidnapped by some very nasty pirates. Torin to the rescue! (Once a Marine, always a Marine.) No sign of the plastic aliens in this one – or is there?

This is the first book I have read by Hoyt. Pretty damned good. Space opera with a bit of romance. The heroine Athena is one tough cookie. She has to be because Daddy dearest has plans for her and they aren't nice at all. She survives – with a little help from her friends.

Still good the second time through. I reckon this is the book where the series really gets going.
4+ stars.

Even better on a re-read. I picked up lots of detail that I either had forgotten or hadn't noticed on the first read. David Brin really let his imagination run loose. Earthclan triumphant against incredible odds! (With quite a lot of help from some seriously advanced entities.)
Solid 4 stars.

Note: This trilogy is all one story. Start with the first book.

Spoiler for an earlier book: I do wish David Brin would return to the planet Kithrup ([b:Startide Rising|234501|Startide Rising (The Uplift Saga, #2)|David Brin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476445711l/234501._SY75_.jpg|251634]) and tell us the fate of those who remained behind (Tom Orley, Charles Dart, and the others).

Some good action/suspense, but the story is pretty silly actually.

I have read Citizen of the Galaxy several times over the decades. IMHO it is RAH's best work.
This time I decided to go with audio. Grover Gardner's narration is very good indeed.
The story of young Thorby's struggle to find his place in the galaxy has held up well. Heinlein packed a lot of story into this book. It has three distinct parts. I think of them as ‘Thorby the slave', ‘Thorby the spaceman', and ‘Thorby's homecoming'. (I reckon some more recent writers would get three 500 page books out of this story.)
Anyway, still a good story, well told. An SF classic.

Very often the second book of a trilogy is a bit of a let down. That isn't the case here; IMO this second book improves on the first.
(Now I need to get on with a re-read of the third volume.

Still good on a decades later re-read. Classic SF.
Jack Holloway, the main protagonist, is an engaging character. IMHO he embodies many of the traditional male virtues. He is stalwart and unflagging in his support of those he cares for. In this story he comes to care for Little Fuzzy and his family – and by extension all of the Fuzzy species.
(I reckon Piper's Fuzzies – terminally cute, smart little guys – were a seed for George Lucas's Ewoks.)
Little Fuzzy is a book of its time with lots of smoking and bits that might be taken as a somewhat sexist now. But still a fun read.
4.5 stars rounded up.

IMHO, this is David Brin's best book.
Great story, even better on a re-read. It hasn't aged.
Required reading for SF aficionados.

Still good on a re-read. I started my second time through in audio but gave up on that at about the 20% mark and switched to text. I found that the early 19th century English and nautical terminology were sometimes difficult to follow aurally. YMMV.
This book reads like about 50% swashbuckling sea adventure and 50% historical romance. Some parts are quite humorous, especially when Jack is evading the “Bums” who are aiming to take him by force and put him in debtor's prison. And Jack's and Stephen's various entanglements and adventures with the ladies are reminiscent of Jane Austin romances – but from the male side.
As the title implies, this is the book where Jack finally makes Post. (But not without difficulty.) It is also the story where Stephen comes into his own as a special agent (can we say “secret”?) for the Admiralty.
Solid four stars.